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Daily Grammar Lesson

The modal auxiliary verb "would" has a variety of functions and uses, including replacing "will" for things that happened or began in the past, or describing hypothetical situations. What type of mood is used to express hypotheticals and desires?More...Discuss

Article of the Day

Humans are the only creatures to use a form of communication that scholars consider "language"?봞 system of spoken sounds or conventional symbols that communicates thought. Although some animals display similar social behavior, linguists are reluctant to term it language, instead describing it as "animal communication." Still, some animals have been taught certain features of human language. Why are most animal languages considered "closed"?More...Discuss

This Day in History

Jerusalem was conquered by the Crusaders in 1099 during the First Crusade and served as the capital of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem for most of the 12th century, but it was besieged and captured by Saladin, the Kurdish Muslim warrior and Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt, after his decisive victory at Hattin in 1187. The Crusaders negotiated a surrender, and the two parties agreed to a peaceful handover of the city to Saladin, preventing the sort of massacre that had occurred when?More...Discuss

Today's Birthday

Dewar was a British chemist and physicist best known for his work on the properties of matter at very low temperatures and the liquefaction of gases. In the course of his work, he liquefied and solidified hydrogen and invented the Dewar flask. Used for storing liquefied gases, his Dewar flask?봞 double-walled flask with an insulating vacuum between the inner and outer walls?봟ecame essential in low-temperature scientific work. What everyday item was patterned after Dewar's flask?More...Discuss

Today's Holiday

The first Oktoberfest was held on October 12, 1810, in honor of the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria to Princess Therese von Saxony-Hildburghausen. Since that time it has become, above all else, a celebration of German beer. The Lord Mayor of Munich, Germany, opens the first barrel, and the 16-day festival begins. Both citizens and tourists flock to this event, which is marked by folk costume parades in which brewery horses draw floats and decorated beer wagons through the streets. Oktoberfest celebrations are also held in cities throughout the United States. More...Discuss

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